Turkey’s machinery exports increased 11.5 pct in 2018: Association
ISTANBUL
Turkish machinery industry’s exports reached $17.1 billion in 2018, with an increase of 11.5 percent compared to the previous year.
“We aim at doubling our exports in five years while maintaining our annual growth rate of 15 percent and reaching $34 billion in 2023,” Kutlu Karavelioğlu, chairman of Machinery Exporters’ Association (MAİB), said in a press release.
“We are one of the two countries along with China which have increased their machinery exports. Such a high rate of increase in the technology-centered industry is not an accomplishment that you could frequently witness,” he added.
Accounting for 10.1 percent of Turkey’s total exports, the machinery industry raised the rate of exports meeting imports to 64 percent. The industry exports 60 percent of its products to the European Union and the United States.
Karavelioğlu called on the Turkish government to support the domestic machinery industry, saying: “We believe that the incentives mechanism should be revised as giving precedence to local machinery and technology. Development of machinery by their manufacturers and producers within the country is the main prerequisite for improving the national industry.”
“We have increased our machinery exports 10 times since 2001. We minimized the adverse effects of economic fluctuations as a result of our endeavors last year. Relying on our technological advantages, we prevented importers from turning exchange rate fluctuations into an opportunity and maintained the reputation of Turkish machinery brands without cutting our unit prices,” he added.
